Phil Jagielka is Sheffield United's renaissance man. Frequently Neil Warnock's best player, he has not only completed every minute of his team's Premiership fixtures this season but variously starred in midfield, central defence, at right-back and, in extremis against Arsenal, as an emergency goalkeeper.

A gashed leg will require a late fitness test before tomorrow's all-important home date with Wigan but Jagielka, named in the England B squad to face Albania later this month, feels confident of recovering in time to "help do the job needed to keep us in this beautiful division".

Warnock, a manager so proud of "Jagger" that other players call him "Phil's surrogate dad", will probably deploy him in central midfield. Yet although United's manager has described the 24-year-old as "the new Patrick Vieira" even he is not quite sure which position is Jagielka's strongest. "I can see Jagger eventually taking over from Gary Neville at right-back for England," said Warnock yesterday. "The trouble is he's the sort of player you want to have in three positions at once. I'm sure though, that wherever he ends up, Phil will become a fully fledged member of the England senior set up in the next few years."

Jagielka should certainly offer Steve McClaren a touch of Polish industry, his grandparents having fled their native country during the second world war and arrived in England as "displaced persons". They eventually built a new life in Manchester but the fact that Jagielka's bilingual father did not learn English until he started school highlights the difficulties involved.

Jagielka's fluency in assorted footballing positions, however, has attracted covetous glances from Premiership rivals, including Liverpool, and the only question he dodges is one concerning a reported escape clause in his contract. "I don't think the manager would be too keen on me talking about that," he said before adroitly switching the conversational direction to the previously volatile Warnock's unexpectedly calm demeanour this season.

"I don't know if it's his age, maybe he's worried about his blood pressure, but he's been the most relaxed person ever around here; I've been surprised," revealed a player who joined United as a teenager and regards Warnock as his mentor. "The manager's still not a perfect angel and can get animated at times but he's definitely changed his style a little bit. Maybe he's learnt he just can't fall out with everyone; maybe he feels under less pressure because he's done what he set out to do in his managerial career.

"Instead of ranting and raving he's been all shirt and tie, cool and relaxed; I think it's been quite good for us."

England involvement should be similarly beneficial for Jagielka, even if it means disrupting his summer holiday. "My wife, Emily, and I had booked to go to Halkidiki in Greece at the end of May and, because she's pregnant and isn't allowed to fly any later, her sister is now taking my place," he explained. "It's not too bad, though, I'm going out to tag along for the second week. I'd actually just paid for the holiday when I learnt about the call up - which was a big, although very pleasant, surprise - but you can hardly turn England down."

If he appears at pre-season training looking a little bleary-eyed Warnock should blame fishing rather than his second baby - he already has a daughter - for sleep disruption. "Fishing is becoming the new golf for footballers," joked Jagielka. "But I'm nowhere near as good as Jimmy Bullard [Fulham's angling champion] - I'm very much a learner."

Having originally spent time on the riverbank as a small boy with his older brother Steve, who would later play for Shrewsbury and Accrington and is now a plumber-cum-decorator, Jagielka has recently rediscovered the sport, sometimes staying out all night waiting for a catch. "I started again last year," he explained. "It's something peaceful and really enjoyable, a great hobby. It's no longer really the season now but I tended to go after matches because you can't sleep anyway. My wife is very understanding and it's not like I'm having a night on the town or anything."

Providing United do not lose to Wigan an evening on the tiles would surely be in order tomorrow. "Personally it would be fantastic to have played every minute of every game but I won't be feeling that if we lose," he said. "Of the three clubs in danger we're in the best position; if we don't concede, we don't go down. There's a little bit of pressure when you think about the money involved in staying up but it's also exciting, in a strange kind of way. Right from the start of the season we all thought we might have to get a result against Wigan in the last game and, lo and behold, it's come true."

Where Jagielka deviates from the general mood around Bramall Lane is in his laid-back attitude towards West Ham and their continued deployment of Carlos Tevez. "Obviously some people want them relegated because of Tevez but if they get enough points to keep themselves up, it's fair enough for me," he said. "I'd actually rather us win on Sunday and West Ham stay up because that would mean Sheffield United finishing as high up the table as possible."